BEST SO FAR! DALI Epicon 2 Speaker Review

Is DALI's flagship standmount a lot better than the best sub £3,000 speakers I have reviewed to date?

Link to manufacturers webpage:

Link to my Patreon:

Related reviews:
ATC SCM 40

Neat Petite Classic

DALI Menuet SE

Health warning: Early videos with dodgy production values ;)
ATC SCM 19

ProAc Response 1SC

Time stamps:
0:00 Intro
3:03 Design & features
4:31 Technical insights
6:21 Sound quality
9:27 Setup & partnering equipment
11:29 Conclusion

[Johnny-fwxj]

Dali speakers are often overlooked for some reason, in my opinion Dali has some of the best entry/mid-level speakers in the market.

I really love the design philosophy with woodpulp drivers and simple yet beautiful aesthetics; Scandinavian form and function 👌

Of all the speakers I've owned and listened to, to this day Oberon 5 is perhaps the speaker I would recommend to any new enthusiasts. Beautifully crafted, really fun and engaging sound, unfuzzy about room/placement, work really well with cheaper electronics aswell and they're just super easy and so cheap!

[KAL-]

In my view, the Rubicon series is the gem in the entire Dali catalogue, considering the price /performance ratio. Would love to see the Rubicon 2 (bookshelf) and 6 (floorstanders) reviewed by you. 🙂

[Brett]

Great, would love to see more dali reviews, I feel like there’s a lack of them on the internet unfortunately

[mrkitewine]

Thanks Tarun, I heard the epicon 2s in a showroom a few years ago, my jaw dropped. I could literally walk around David Bowie as he was positioned in 3d space in front of me.
They remain my benchmark

[Maxiinti]

Another vote for the dynaudio heritage special would be fantastic to have your opinion 🤘

[wronghandshooter]

Can't wait to hear your Accuphase review. Always wanted one.

[손여민-jx]

It's very glad to see my current speakers dealt with on my favorite hifi channel. I purchased them 2 months ago and they are fed by Marantz pm-15. The sound they make is just beyond words. I'm just listening to all kinds of music more than 3 hours a day. I've never listened to music like this before although I'm a huge music lover.

By the way, for some reason Dali product is a big bargain here in Korea. In my case, Epicon 2s cost me about under 2500 pound. It's such a blessing. 🙂

[mykeldg]

Ive gone through a bunch of speakers in my early days and upgraded early to the rubicon 2. Being the novice that i am, i sold them to try out other brands from kef atc dynaudio wharfedale. But none of them did it for me as the dalis did. So i went back and could not be happier. Even the rubicon 2 are endgame for me and my limited budget.

[carolineleonard]

Thank you for being so generous with your time at the Bristol show it was great to chat, as I know you did with many others. Again my sincerest compliments on a great channel and your depth of explanations. I really was only joking about 'retiring' the ProAcs though😊👍.

[brown-eyedman]

Congratulations Tarun. Three years and going strong. What an enjoyable journey it'd been. It was obvious from the start that your channel was something special.
End game speakers is a tough one. There was something just so right about classic British speakers. Maybe a little 'woodiness' in the sound of a speaker is a good thing. And I always loved the bundle of straws in the port of Proacs.

[richardvdbogaard]

I really like your reviews. I own the Epicons 2 in walnut with the original stands for half a year now. Partnered them with a Primaluna Dialogue Premium integrated tube amp and Cambridge CXN V2 streamer. Very happy with them. They are so beautiful! You do have to give them some room to breathe. In my living room I don't have the possibility to pull them away from the rear wall enough. I had some serious acoustic bass issues. I solved this by adding the MiniDSP flex with Dirac Live. Night and day difference! Bass issues solved. It's tight and fast with much definition. I have 2 Rel T5i subwoofers connected as well. I don't think the Epicons really need them for music listening, but it's the cherry on the pie for me. I have to say that I don't recognize the low volume listening issue you mention. I think they do very well in that regard. I previously owned the Totem Sttaf and Dynaudio Special Forty (also with the Primaluna) and this is much better. Keep up the good work 👍

[genehammond]

It's so amazing how smaller speaker's have gained such a presence in the audio world !!! 😊👍👍

[bernardmckoy]

Hi Tarun. Great to meet Terry Ellis and yourself at Bristol yesterday. We had a really good chat. Keep up the good work.

[sonusancti]

Hi Tarun. Insightful review as usual. The problem with this hobby is it always boils down to synergy.

To be meaningful, one has to set a reference system sans the speaker and then review different speakers to see who wins given that specific system given your specific room.

Conversely we can anchor an excellent pair of speakers and source, then search for the best amplification for them, synergy.

All relative, all subjective, what makes this passionate curiosity last longer than most marriages.

[davidsykes]

Another good review Tarun. My favorite part was hearing you have an Accuphase review on the way!!!🎉

[cafepuschkin]

I picked up some Menuet SEs at Xmas (£950, 2nd hand), and I'm enjoying their quality enormously. Looking at Dali's wide range, it's hard not to wonder
what the differences might be, so thanks for this review. £5k is out of my range, and a pity you got the white, when the curved veneers look so beautiful.
I was actually just looking at Dali's new flagship Kore speakers - £70K, 148kg each, 2 delivered in a 248kg crate - If I can dream, I may aswell start there!

[CapnJack]

Another great review. I like that you are looking at more higher end speakers. I believe I have found my end game speaker being the Dynaudio Heritage Special. It sounds amazing even at low levels. I would really be interested in your take on them

[hrvojekant]

Dear Tarun, dear all British Audio followers!
Excelent review ...nothing less!
For me perssonaly ...for the 5k £...I think I could get deminishing value in return.
My old standing mounts ProAc-s and Q type KEFs with the SMS sub...I do not intend to change.
All the best to You Tarun and to all your passionate followers!

[chinthakawanasinghe]

Its absolutely amazing how you bring out your reviews. The technical details, comparisons are very helpful. Love to see review on Sonus Faber Sonetto

[davidparkes]

What I believe is my endgame speaker is in my living room - Volti Audio Rival Special Edition horns. They're quite large, very heavy and way more money than I could afford at the time so I had to take out a loan to get them - which I'm still paying off. As I live in a modest condo, they are probably more than I need in this space (yeah ... almost certainly more). Allow me to explain my reasoning. These were the third pair of speakers I'd purchased since I got into this hobby (addiction?), and I know myself well enough to realize that given my fascination with all the technology that goes into making speakers these days, not to mention the aesthetic designs on tap, I could easily keep buying and selling with reckless abandon and never stop chasing that elusive idea of perfection. I needed to draw a line - a hard line. Knowing that, I decided to force my hand and commit to a speaker that I would have to keep around for some time to come and leave all my fiddling to the electronics that would feed them. As of now, I couldn't be happier. I've gone through a number of amps/preamps/dacs and have landed on a combination that suits me to a T. I know it may seem ridiculous to approach my audiophile journey in this way, but so far I'm very satisfied.